Question #10

"The Bible is clear on the fact, that we should not use images of the Lord.  
Why do we use pictures of Jesus to teach our children?"


Answer #10

Well, that is an interesting question.  Are we disobeying the Word of God?  
No, let me give to you what I think might be a helpful answer.  By the way, I 
wouldn't mind, if someone wanted to believe that you should never have a 
picture of Christ at all.  That's fine, I don't argue with that at all, in 
fact, personally, I don't like pictures of Christ.  I don't know why, I just 
don't care for them personally.

I don't think they are wrong, in this sense, it is one thing to have an image 
of Christ, which is worshiped.  It is another thing to have a representation 
on paper, which is clearly not worshiped.  And it is the heart attitude that 
is the issue.  

When the Old Testament commandment said, "That we are not to make images of 
God, and we are not to make idols, the point was for the purpose of worship.  
And of course, remember now, that is the Old Testament, and God was a Spirit 
and had no image.  But even God made Christ into an image that could be seen, 
right?  He is the visible image of God, Hebrews 1.  God actually appeared in 
a visible form.

And so if, in children's books, there are pictures of Jesus, as long as we 
don't worship the picture, as if it were Jesus or God.  As long as we 
understand, that it is simply a representation of a man that really did walk 
on the earth, and really did live on the earth, I think we can make a 
distinction in the minds of children.  

We are not worshiping the picture.  We are not drawing an image of God.  God 
Himself came in the form of a man, and we are simply reproducing the form of 
a man, in which God came.  Not that the form is to be worshiped at all.